What was I talking about?

I think I am losing my memory. 

Lately, I am forgetting things ALL THE TIME. I forgot the boys immunisation appointment not once, but twice. Even after, the second time, the surgery rang me to remind me the day before. Third times a charm! The appointment is rescheduled for tomorrow and the lovely receptionist is going to call me an hour BEFORE to remind me. How pathetic is that! 

The thing is, I am renowned throughout the land for remembering everything! I often say, I remember every person I have ever met, seen or heard about in my whole life. 

I remember trivia. It's my thing. I know who was in which movie. Who wrote which book. What year that happened in. Who said what, and when they said it. This is a totally pointless skill, sure. Especially in this day and age. 

In the nineties, I was kinda my group of friends version of Google. If they wanted to know some useless piece of trivia, they rang me. I remember (see?) my friend Linda phoning me late at night from a pub in Melbourne to ask me what Gargamel's cat on The Smurfs was called. Today, she would have just looked it up on her smart phone. 

I know it doesn't matter. I don't mind if I can't remember every member of my Grade Seven class. I don't mind if I forget the names of all the Fraggles... but I do mind if I start to forget important things, in the present. I don't want to be scatty or a flake. I don't want to be unreliable. I dont want to let people down.

Do you worry about forgetting things?




*Gargamel's cat was called Azreal :-)

Owl Cinema: Week 2 'Serpicowl'

Starring Owl Pacino. Yep, I am ALL ABOUT the owl puns.


Owl Cinema is a New Series.
See Week 1 here

A couple of months of books

So, I like to read. I read a lotta books. And I don't just read Stephen King. Although I do read/ reread a SK book probably once a month. Cos I am a harcore nerd :-)

Ok, so I thought I'd recommend a few books I have read in the last two months or so.

1) Lola Bensky by Lily Brett

This is the second Lily Brett novel I have read- the first being Too Many Men. Again, in Lola Bensky there is the theme of a child of a holocaust survivor trying to reconcile what her parents went through and what it means in her life. In this novel, that stream is crossed with the music industry of the late sixties early seventies- fascinating and in some parts, harrowing.

2) In One Person by John Irving

John Irving is almost precious to me. He is mine. Whenever a new novel comes out, I almost squeal out loud. In One Person is another oddball coming of age story. It follows Billy, as he develops a number of crushes on the 'wrong' people. The John Irving Universe is a warm, confronting, comfortable place, filled with wacky, beautiful characters

3) Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter

My husband and I have developed a TV crush on Dawn O'Porter, after stumbling across her documentary specials. Then, we discovered she is married to the awesome Chris O'Dowd! And she is CUTE AS A BUTTON. So when I heard she had written her debut novel, I had to check it out. It is  young adult fiction, but I still enjoyed it. Having just seen Dawn's doco about her mother's death from breast cancer, it was even more poignant to read the thoughts of her pseudo teen self via the character Renee. A lovely book.

4) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Loved this book.  Loved it. I can't really tell you too much about it without giving away too much. But. Oh my lord. Incredible characters. Evil Genius Alert. 

5) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is about a very unusual circus and a very strange competition. I loved the Circus imagery and the kooky cast of characters, but there were times when I kinda din't really get what was going on... Does that make me stupid? Maybe.

6) Six Years by Harlan Coben

I love a bit of mystery/ thriller every now and then. This is my first Harlan Coben and I really enjoyed it. The main character Jake Fisher was interesting and sympathetic- maybe I connected with him cos he is a college professor and i have read so many John Irving novels! But, Six Years is a good, fast read that does what it says on the box.

7) 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Ok, Ok, I re-read a Stephen King too! If you haven't read this one, RUN DONT WALK and get on this immediately. It is such a great book. And, if you are not a King fan 'cos you think he is only a horror writer YOU COULDN'T BE MORE WRONG!! This book is a historical, time travelling, romantic thriller. It is awesome. The end.

Ok! That's me. I have just downloaded another Harlan Coben, 'Gone for Good', so that what's up next.

Are you a reader? What are you reading right now?

Another Visit from the Goon Squad

I get a lot of weird Traffic Sources that bring people here to this blog. I guess I mention stupid, random stuff and then I get surprised when someone find my blog by searching for Howard Keel....

The most popular searches are:

• Stephen King Universe Flowchart  (obviously) 
• Brad Pitt Twelve Monkeys (I once talked about a bunch of monkey stuff in a post about some felt monkeys I had made. Sorry if you came to my blog looking for in-depth Brad Pitt information. I just liked his wonky eye in 12 Monkeys
• But, the most regular, if not the most in numbers is definitely people searching for A Visit From The Goon Squad character Map/ Flowchart. 

This was my first big flowchart. Since it's first incarnation, I have had a few people tell me of an error I had made. No, Joe WAS NOT Alfred's son. What the hell was I thinking??? I think it was a line gone astray in the design process, more than a fundamental dumbass-ness. So, I finally fixed it, and added a few other things. I also made it a bit easier to read.

SO, you can check out the original post, with updated chart here.

Or you can look at this pic of a monkey (NOT BRAD PITT)

"How YOU Doin'?"

NEW SERIES Owl Cinema: Week 1

My owls are branching out from sharing their opinions, to reenacting great moments in cinematic history.....

What movie scene would you like to see performed by Owls?

Cloud Atlas- A Flowchart

Often, when I come across a flowchart-worthy book or film, I chart it so others can see and appreciate the connections. When I decided to chart the film 'Cloud Atlas' it was so I could try and understand it!!

This film is a complicated, beautiful, confusing piece of art. The interconnectedness flows not just through the characters and narrative, but through to the actual actors playing multiple roles- often of differing gender or race. Such an interesting film. I still can't say I understood it completely, or that this is a definitive explanation of ANYTHING, but I definitely enjoyed creating this. 

Have you seen Cloud Atlas? What did you think?

*And, I know this was an acclaimed, much loved book first, which I have on my Kindle app, but haven't read yet... This is a flowchart of the film :-)

Dumb Things I Used to Think

So I think I'm pretty intelligent. I know stuff. I get stuff. I am not an idiot. I often claim to know everything... or everything worth knowing...

BUT.

I am happy to admit that there are a few things in my life that I have thought that were just plain dumb.

Here are...

The Top Five Dumb Things I Used to Think

I used to think Detroit was a country in Eastern Europe. Near Beirut. Which I also thought was a country in Eastern Europe.

I mistook the lyrics to the Kenny Rogers Song 'Lucille'. The line is: 'Four hungry children and a crop in the field.' I thought it was: 'Four Hundred children and a cross bred blue seal'

I used to think that if you farted, and you sniffed vigorously enough, you could suck up all the smell before anyone else smelled it. I called it the Fart Vacuum.

I thought the purple pod things that fall of banana trees were poisonous and would burn you if you touched them. Wait, I thought that because my sister told me they were! I may be dumb, but she is evil :-)

Until my late twenties, I thought New Zealand was where Papua New Guinea is. I couldn't understand why it was so cold there if it was closer than us to the Equator. Note that I am now married to a cartographer. 

So, what dumb things did you used to think?

Owl Says #10

On Tuesdays, it's over to the owls... 

AND, you can check out the whole series on Pinterest!!

Printing my own opportunities

Dude. This last week has been nuts. In a totally awesome way.  This crazy journey I have been on since last July actually culminated in the self publishing of my Stephen King Universe Flowchart. 

It is a totally cool feeling to know I have actually finished something. I have taken this project through all the 'What Ifs' and 'I Coulds' and now it is an 'I Have'. It is a real, actual thing. And people seem to like it...

Going to press check the poster was a little overwhelming and a lot cool. Seeing them fly out of the huge machine into a huge pile of SOMETHING I CREATED. The printers did not understand what it was and asked me numerous times to explain. And then they started to look at me like I was a bit odd.... I know Printer Man. Imagine what it's like to be inside my head!!

The little boys helping Daddy check the colours. They said it was all good.

My Lovely Husband has been so awesome in all of this. He has helped to create a really professional product. He is so clever. I like him heaps.

And now my life will be filled with rolling posters, putting them in tubes, writing thank you's and visiting the post office. AND LOVING EVERY SECOND!

Thanks you to all who have supported this project. You are ace.

The Stephen King Universe Flowchart Update (including the Dark Tower Series)

click here 

As I have mentioned before, when I was in Grade Five, I borrowed a battered paperback copy of 'Carrie' from my friend Tarnya Smyth (who stole it from her mum). I was totally hooked and under the spell of Stephen King and his characters from that moment.

I dedicate this chart to Tarnya Smyth's mum. The same woman who took me to the cinema to see both Desperately Seeking Susan and Risky Business. When I was 12. That is very young to be comprehending cheeky Tom Cruise becoming a pimp while his mum and dad were on holidays, isn't it? I am realising that Mrs Smyth was probably my primary source of sexual education. That's kinda weird.

Anyway. Here it is. 

The updated Stephen King Universe Flowchart including the Dark Tower Series.

I have said this about stuff before, but this time I mean it:

This chart is like my fourth child. Be kind to it. It means a lot to me.

I hope you like it.

AND I hope you aren't screaming at your monitor saying, "Ermagerd! I can't believe she left out '.................'!!! What a dick!!!". 

Trust me guys, I took all of your suggestions, connections and corrections on board and tried to confirm as many as I could. If you suggested something and it's not here, it's because I could not back it up through research. Or, because I disproved it through research. I am still totally keen to hear any further connections that you have to offer! I couldn't have made this chart so comprehensive without the help of all the readers. You Sai King geeks are awesome. 

And you were totally right. As I have said before, The Stephen King Universe Flowchart without the Dark Tower is like Happy Days without Fonzie... Still good, but not nearly as cool.

And if this is your first encounter with The Stephen King Universe Flowchart (now with added Ka Tet!!) then get comfy. Put your reading eyes on. Immerse yourself. You may need an aspirin. 

And guess what? You can totally buy the chart.

click here 

Now, we are doing a small print run to gauge the response. When the charts sell out, we will reprint and resupply. Once they are sold out, we will not be taking any more orders, until the next print run is complete.

AND, don't forget I live in Australia. Thats, like, really far away. From everything. Except New Zealand. So, when I ship your chart, it will take as long as it takes things to be delivered from the bottom of the planet :-) 


Thanks for all the support and the opportunity to share my particular brand of crazy. Enjoy.

Sugar Skull Girl

I did this drawing yesterday. Just cos.

Happy Thursday!